Pete Buttigieg is optimistic about his support among black voters. Polls continue to show he shouldn't be.

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The Washington Post's polling director is hitting back at Pete Buttigieg's assertion that "the black voters who know me best are supporting me."

Buttigieg made the statement during Tuesday night's Democratic debate in Iowa, after being asked about polls showing that he has next to no support from African Americans. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said that "among elected black officials in my community who have gotten into this race, by far most of them are supporting me." He's also "proud that my campaign is co-chaired by a member of the Congressional Black Caucus" and that he has the backing of prominent black elected officials in Iowa.

The Post's Scott Clement tweeted that Buttigieg's claim that "as African Americans get to know him, he will gain more support" is undercut by a recent Washington Post-Ipsos national poll where he "receives only 3 percent support among black voters who are familiar with him." The poll, published Saturday, also shows Buttigieg standing at "2 percent among Democratic black voters nationally." Former Vice President Joe Biden came out on top of the poll with 48 percent, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with 20 percent.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.